The Door
by E. B. White
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At a glance:
- Author: E. B. White
- First Published: 1939
- Type of Plot: Antistory
- Time of Work: The late 1930’s
- Setting: A modern American city
- Characters: The unnamed protagonist, A female tour guide, The Professor
- Genres: Short fiction, Antistory
- Subjects: Love or romance, Sex or sexuality, Alienation, 1930's, Mental illness, Captivity, Houses, mansions, or manors, Happiness, Experiments, Doors, Walls, Rats or mice
- Locales: United States, North America
The Story
This story unfolds within the claustrophobic confines of one man’s mind. Its unnamed male protagonist is apparently taking a tour of a modernistic model house in a large city, led by an unnamed female guide. He feels profoundly alienated from his surroundings but also trapped by them. He cannot tell if his unease derives from being in the city, from the building itself (which has doorways that turn out to be walls and vice versa), or perhaps even from the high-tech names of the objects and substances around him. He is certain of one thing, however: Like a rat that...
(The entire page is 1440 words.)
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